Relax, The New 'Top Gear' Will Be Just Fine And Here's Why

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Something, something, not Clarkson, something, something, suck!

In the past few weeks we’ve seen a flurry of articles about how the new “Top Gear” hosted by Chris Evans is “off to a bumpy start” and also how “things keep getting worse.” Hell, we’ve even seen Evans getting sick while being whipped around Laguna Seca in an Audi R8! We report on these minor updates because we love “Top Gear” and because you, the reader, seem to love it as well. However, just because we post articles on the show’s seemingly never-ending struggles doesn’t mean we don’t believe in it. The new “Top Gear” will be just fine, and here’s why.

For starters, you need to forget everything you knew about the old “Top Gear” starring Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond. That show now lives on Amazon. I say this because the biggest issue people seem to have with Chris Evans and his team of presenters (more on them soon) is that they aren’t Clarkson, Hammond and May. Of course they aren’t, but what group could hope to be? This new trio is making a new show, not simply a remake of the old one. To compare the two when one (the new version) hasn’t even released an episode—much less a trailer—is silly. One common detraction of the new trio is that they are “nobodies.” Okay, usually the language used isn’t so harsh but you get the point.

Chris Evans, Sabine Schmitz and Chris Harris (former F1 driver David Coulthard is out) aren’t widely known to the public. But does that really matter? All three are known in the car world. Evans is a noted Ferrari nut and Schmitz has the nickname “Queen of the Ring” because she has dominated the Nurburgring so many damn times. Harris was a car writer before striking out on his own and creating a popular YouTube channel where he reviews cars. Gearheads may not know who all three are, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a car nut that doesn't know any of them. That leads into the next point: They all know their stuff. Evans may be more famous in the UK as a radio personality but he is also a car fanatic, specifically a Ferrari nut.

He also reviews cars for the The Daily Mail. If that’s not enough to convince you then maybe this top list will do the trick. Sabine Schmitz has raced for Porsche and BMW. She also has TV experience, having hosted the German car show “D Motor.” Chris Harris has done extensive work covering the automotive industry for Evo and Autocar. He’s also spent a lot of time behind the camera filming his YouTube series "Chris Harris on Cars." With a base of knowledge and presenting experience like this, the new “Top Gear” appears to be in good hands. The only thing no one can predict is how the chemistry will be. Chemistry is everything on a show like this, as Clarkson, Hammond and May deftly demonstrated for so many years.

Chris Evans can puke his brains out daily and Lamborghini can keep Harris on its ban list for life and none of that will matter if the two (and Schmitz) get on just fine. If they don’t, then all the car knowledge and on-camera work in the world won’t save the show. It’s too early to call now, though, so let’s all chill out and wait for that first episode to air.